Dripping Flames
by bender17
Summary: On Katara's 15th Birthday, she notices something strange. Her hair and eyes are changing, and so are her bending skills. In an act of desperation, Zuko is the only to help Katara. Also...her father may not be who she thought he was. Bad summary. Romance i
1. The Dream

**Chapter One: The Dream**

Katara tossed and turned restlessly in her sleeping bag. Sweat dripped from her face and her skin was unbearably hot.

* * *

Katara's Dream:

She stood in the center of a steel room. She looked around and realized that she was on a Fire Nation's ship. She gulped down a lump in her throat as her thoughts were filled with regret.

A hand reached out and touched Katara on the shoulder. She jumped and turned around. She could see a faint outline of a man, but he was standing in the shadows, hiding his face. "Soon," the man spoke, "you will learn what you really are, who you are to become. Not long now, till you will remember…till you will learn." The man paused for what seemed a lifetime and then finally spoke again, "my daughter…my little Katara…soon." She jumped in shock. The man she saw wasn't the father she'd known. It wasn't the same man she saw putting on armor and leaving to war. She shivered, who was this man who claimed to be her father. Katara stared in surprise at the man.

Katara blinked and there was another figure standing next to the man. The figure looked more feminine. Katara gasped as she stepped out from the shadows. She hesitated and then spoke out in a raspy whisper, "Mom?"

Her mother took a few steps towards her and stopped. A sweet smile crossed her face as she looked at her Katara. Her sweet Katara. She reached out and touched the stone that hung on the necklace around Katara's neck. Katara looked down at where her mother touched and yelled in surprise. Her stone…it had changed. It was now a swirl…a mix of red and blue. She continued to stare at it, at its beauty when her mother spoke. "Soon…" Her mother stepped back into the shadows.

Katara tried to run after her mom but couldn't move. "Mom? Mom! Wait! Please, don't go. Not yet! Please Mom, come back! Mom! Mom!"

End of Katara's dream.

* * *

Katara sat up in her bed and screamed out, "MOM!" She opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. She was no longer in a steel room but lying in a clearing on the grass. It was just a dream, she thought as she began to pant. She felt her face and it turned to disgust when she realized she was dripping with sweat. Although the air was freezing, her sleeping bag was sweltering hot. She climbed out of it and walked towards a stream a ways off. This was the second night the dream had come, but it had never gone as far as this. She shook her head. She couldn't understand why she couldn't sleep. Katara's 15th birthday was tomorrow. Maybe she was just excited. Yah, that's right, she was just excited. She sighed and put her hands down into the icy cold stream. She cupped a bowl of water and splashed it on her face and clenched her eyes shut, the sweat stinging her eyes as the water washed it into them. She shook her head and opened her eyes. She leaned over the water and saw something different…her reflection was different. She looked closer. Her hair, her eyes…they were different. Her once auburn hair was now streaked with hints of red and black. Her eyes widened. Was this some joke Sokka and Aang had pulled on her in her sleep. She then turned her attention to her eyes. "No…" She gasped. She leaned down closer to the water, inches away from the surface. Her once beautiful blue eyes were now speckled with gold. "How?" She asked herself a loud. The gold in her eyes reminded her of Prince Zuko. She'd never paid much attention to his eyes but she would always remember the color. She looked again at her eyes. She smiled slightly, the gold actually made them look even more beautiful. It looked like an ocean of blue with gold flakes resting on the sand below the water's surface. Then something else caught her attention. Her necklace. She noticed something different…yet familiar about it. She reached behind her neck and unclipped it and brought it to her face. She shook her head in disbelief. It was just like in her dream. It's normal blue was gone and it was now a swirl of amber red and ocean blue. Was…was that dream real?

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Hey, sorry this chapter was so short. This is my first fanfic. On word, this is actually more than 3 pages. Kinda funny how so much work covers so little. Whatever. R&R!

**Next Chapter: The Change**


	2. The Change

**Chapter Two: The Change**

As Katara began to clip on her necklace once again around her neck, Sokka crawled out of his sleeping bag and walked towards her. He stopped halfway there and tilted his head to the side and stared at the girl. _Who was that by the stream_? He thought. He looked at the girl's hair. It was auburn, red, and black. He looked at the girl's clothes and his eyes widened. "Katara? What did you do to your hair?" He ran up to her and grabbed her shoulders in anger. He yanked her up to her feet and turned her around to face him. Her eyes were closed and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Don't look at me, Sokka!" She covered her eyes with her hands. She could only imagine his disgusted face when he saw her almost half golden eyes.

Sokka let go of her shoulders when he saw her tears. A thought came to him,

_It's happening. _

_No, It can't be happening. _

_Yes it is. _

_No, it's not supposed to happen till she turns 15. _

_She almost is 15. Tomorrow, remember? _

_No…it's too soon. _

_You knew it was going to come. _

_I knew it was going to come._

Sokka gulped and reached towards one of Katara's hands that were covering her face. "K-Katara, let me see." It sounded more like a question than a command. He knew what lay underneath. His mother had told him to prepare for this, to be there for Katara when the time came. He said it again, this time as a command. Katara slowly pulled her hands away and fluttered her eyes open. She looked down to the ground. Sokka put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up to him. He stared at her eyes in shock. They were just how he'd expected. Blue and gold, just the way he'd pictured it when his mother told him how this was going to happen. He hesitated and said, "Katara. I know what is going on. But I'm not the one who should tell you."

Katara's eyes went wide. "You mean, you know what's happening? Tell me. Tell me!"

Sokka shut his eyes for a moment. "I can't be the one to tell you."

Katara stared at him for a moment. Finally she whispered out, "Then who? Who can explain this to me? What's happening?"

Sokka whispered out one word. "Dad." His voice got more confident. "Dad is the only one who can tell you what's really going on. And I know where to find him."

Katara smiled. "You know where dad is? I thought he was at war. Oh Sokka, why didn't you tell me you knew where he was? Are we near his troops?"

Sokka frowned and said, "That's not your father. He was a fake, put there so you wouldn't know the truth. Well…he's my father, but not yours." She was about to talk and her eyes went wide. He put a finger up to his mouth, "Shhh. Not with Aang here. We'll discuss this tomorrow. We leave after your birthday." _Your 15th birthday, _he thought to himself.Katara paused and then nodded. She didn't want to wake, or scare, Aang. This was the first day he'd actually gotten almost a full day of sleep. Sokka stood up straighter and walked back to camp, "I'm hungry, Katara! Get me some food."

Katara smiled but it quickly faded away as she began to understand what was happening. Was her father a fire bender? No, he couldn't be. She'd seen her father putting on armor, kissing a young Sokka and Katara on the foreheads, and leaving with the other men to go out for war. Then Sokka's words came to her again. "_That's not your father. He was a fake, put there so you wouldn't know the truth."_ She shivered. Could it be true? Had her father she'd known and loved really be a fake? And if so, what fire bender was really her father?

* * *

Hey. I know, I know. Again, really short. The next chapter will be about the same length. But don't worry, the 4th chapter is going to be super long, and trust me, there will be a HUGE surprise.

**Next Chapter: 15th Birthday**


	3. 15th Birthday

**Chapter Three: 15th Birthday**

It was the morning of Katara's 15th birthday. Aang and Sokka were already up. Katara still slept inside one of the tents while they began to set up for her celebration. There wasn't much decorating to do, let alone much decorative things to use. They had to be creative. Momo had gone out and gotten food while Aang went out and got as many flowers as he could. Within minutes he was back with a huge pile of flowers. Together, Sokka and Aang pulled the petals off and threw them all over the ground like confetti. Sokka prepared the food and lit small twigs on fire around the campsite as a type of candles. While they did all of this, Sokka filled Aang in on what was going on. When they finished decorating they sat down to talk more about the details. Aang stared at the ground in disbelief. "Y-you mean…she's a fire bender? She's one of _them_!" Aang said in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"No…not one of them. She's not just a fire bender. She is also a water bender. I'm worried. Once she meets her father and sees who he's an ally with…I'm not sure what she'll do. Also, I'm not sure where to place her. If she goes with the fire benders, she'd always be made fun of for being a water peasant. But if she returns to the water tribe, they will not be able to trust her…" Sokka looked solemnly to the ground. He didn't want this for his sister. She didn't deserve what was to come.

Aang tried to find a bright side to this. He couldn't. Finally a thought perked up his face, "Well, at least now we can both practice two bending skills. Fire and water. She'll be like…a half-Avatar." He laughed at the thought of a half-Avatar. Sokka didn't think it was funny. Another thought came to Aang. "Hey Sokka?"

Sokka was staring at Momo as he came back with a huge pile of fruit in his hands. Saliva slowly dribbled down his chin and he licked his lips. Food.

Aang repeated himself. "Sokka…Sokka!" He shook his head at Sokka's conquering hunger.

Sokka snapped out of his blissful trance. "Huh, what? Oh, sorry. What were you saying?" He looked down slightly embarrassed as he whipped the drool off his face.

Aang laughed slightly and then his face grew more serious. "Who _is_ her father an ally with?"

Sokka hesitated for a moment. "Do you really want to know?" Aang immediately nodded. Sokka continued, "He's an ally with—" He was cut short as they heard a happy voice behind them.

"Hey guys!" Katara yawned as she stepped out from her tent. Her hair was in a tangle and her kimono was all crumpled up and wrinkled. Katara stopped short as she saw the petals and food all around her. A wide smile grew across her face. She ran to Sokka and threw her arms around him. "Oh, Sokka! Thank you!" She let go of him and turned to hug Aang. As she went to hug him she stopped at the look on Aang's face. "What's wrong Aang?" Katara asked. Just then a breeze blew and Katara's hair blew in front of her face. Her eyes went wide as she remembered yesterday. She quickly grabbed her hair and wrapped into a braid and stuffed it down into her kimono. "I-I can explain."

Aang shut his eyes for a moment as he pictured her in his mind. He opened his eyes again and shook his hand as if waving her comment off. "Sokka already told me. I know." He stole another look at her and was about to look away when her eyes caught his attention. They were so beautiful. They were now a swirl. As if different shades of blue and gold were caught in a hurricane around her pupil. He shook his head and looked away.

Sokka watched them as they both made embarrassed glances to each other. He tried to think about what was going on in there heads. "Sooo…do I have to eat all this food by myself?" He said as he ran over to the piles of fruit. Within seconds his mouth was stuffed with three different fruits at once.

Katara turned and stared at him. "Sokka! It's _my_ birthday, not yours!" She ran towards him and grabbed food for herself. Aang waited a moment, watching her from behind, still not being able to believe what he was seeing. He sighed and slowly walked over to the group.

Later after they ate they began the real party. Aang played a little bit of music on a weird instrument that resembled a wooden flute as Katara and Sokka danced around a fire in the center of their camp. It seemed as if all their troubles and all their worries were floating away with the fire's smoke. Katara's laughing and smiles make Sokka heartbroken. Every time she smiled or laughed with joy, he knew that it would all soon come crashing to an end. He knew that her world was going to be shattered once they met her father. And he would've done anything to prevent that from happening.

Momo clicked his tongue and squeaked as he jumped around the fire, looking as if he was dancing too. Appa just watched them with an irritated look on his face and within minutes was asleep.

Then strange things began to happen as the night grew on.

As Katara's laughter grew louder and her dances quickened, Sokka and Aang both noticed something. Every time she made an enthusiastic movement, the fire in the center would suddenly grow twice it's size and then shrink back to normal when Katara's moment ended. Knowing what was happening; Sokka decided that it was time to end the party. He met Aang's gaze and he stopped dancing as Aang stopped playing his woodwind instrument. Katara stared at them. "Why are we stopping?"

"It's getting late." Sokka put bluntly.

Katara laughed as she looked up at the sky. It was dark, but hardly. It was still light enough to see the petals which were now trampled into the ground from their dancing. "I'm not even tired yet!" Katara protested.

Sokka glared at her. "Time for bed!" He said angrily. "Young women need their rest. You go to bed and sleep while Aang and I clean up."

Katara looked at him for a moment. "Well I can help. It's the least I can do to thank you for the party."

Sokka sighed and quickly answered, "I already told you, young women need their rest. It's our job to make sure you do. Now go to bed."

Katara glared at him angrily. "You are such a sexist! Girls get just as much sleep as boys do." She exclaimed. Behind her, the fire grew and the water from the stream began to rush faster. "All you ever do is try to show off like you're some, '**master of men**'. Do you have any respect for women?" She yelled. The fire grew even higher and the water began to create small splashes onto the bank.

Sokka watched the fire behind her and the stream behind him cautiously. "K-Katara. Calm down." This was reminding him way to much of the incident that she'd created when they first found Aang in the ice.

Katara yelled, "I will not calm down. This is my one day to celebrate, and your sending me to bed. Is it because I've changed? Is it because of this?" She reached behind her and pulled out her braid that was tucked behind her kimono. "Is this why you're acting so strange? Just because I'm different? Or just because I'm a girl!" She threw her hands up as if she was begging him to tell her why. At the exact instant her hands flew up in an exaggerated motion towards the air, they heard a loud splash and pop. Katara whirled around and faced the fire as it suddenly cracked and sparks swirled around the camp like a hurricane. She heard another noise and whirled around just as a wave of water rose from the stream and also swirled around her like a hurricane. Together, fire and water swirled around her in a rippled wave. She screamed at the sight. Without even thinking about it she put her hands down to her sides. The moment her hands were at her hips the sparks returned to the fire and it shrunk to it's normal size while the water floated back to the stream and returned to it's calm, rhythmic pattern down the stream. She collapsed to her knees and stared down at her hands in amazement. "D-did I do that?" She cried out.

Sokka walked up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Katara? I think it's time we have a family reunion. We'll leave tomorrow morning."

Sokka helped her up to her feet. Streams of tears were pouring down her face. "What am I? What's happening to me?" Sokka ignored her questions as he slowly lead her into her tent. She collapsed on her sleeping bag and was asleep before her head even hit her pillow.

* * *

Hello again. This chapter was longer than some of the other ones. Ah well, still pretty short. Since I promised the 4th chapter was going to be long, you guys are also going to have to wait longer. It will bemuch longer than these past few chapters and there will also be a few events that happen. But I'm not going to spoil anything. Expect the chapter to be done either late tomorrow night or early Wed. morning. 

I want to say thank you to A Fading Shadow. She informed me that there was another story that was similar to mine. I just wanted to let you all know that I did not know there was another story like mine and I did not copythe otherstory. Actually, if you read both stories, they have a lot of differences. The only similarities are minor.

R&R! Thank you for all of your other reviews. I'm glad that you like my fanfic. For my first one, I've gotten a lot of comments. The more you review, the more I'll feel inspired to write. Also, please send me ideas. I need a lot of ideas. But don't forget the compliments and comments. :-) Thank you again. I love you all!

**Next Chapter: Father?**


	4. Father?

**Chapter Four: Father?**

****

It was the middle of the night. Katara was now 15 years old. She lay in her bed sweating. She was mumbling nonsense as she smiled happily. She was having another dream.

**Katara's Dream:**

_Katara was once again standing in a steel room. This one was different though. It looked like a ball room. There was red and black confetti scattered across the floor and there were balloons floating around. Katara heard a familiar voice and jumped around to face her visitor. "Hello again, Katara." He said. It was the man again. She gulped. Her father. _

_She stared at him for a moment before reluctantly answering him. "H-Hello." She strained her eyes to see his face. Although as much as she tried, the shadows were far too thick which made it impossible to see his features._

_The man reached out to her but stopped and put his hand back down to his side. "Come to me, my daughter. Come see what you are. You need to learn. If not…" He stopped himself. Katara watched as he turned his head to the door at the far side of the room. The door opened slowly and her mother walked in. Katara's face brightened as a smile spread across her face. Her mother walked over to her and stood just a few inches in front of Katara. "It is time. You are 15, you are of age. Now, you will learn the truth. Her mother stepped towards her and put her hand on Katara's forehead. Katara gasped and she gripped her eyes tightly shut. There was a long silence and Katara slowly opened her eyes again._

_Her eyes shot wide open and stared at what lay before her._

_It was her mother standing before her. But she looked younger…much younger. There was a man facing away from her. She couldn't see the man's face. He was putting on armor. Katara gasped. It was the Fire Nation's armor. Sokka sat next to her mother and in her mother's arms was…Katara. As a baby. She lay sleeping silently, looking completely peaceful. The man walked over to them. He leaned down and kissed her mother and then down and kissed Katara on her forehead. He bent down to his knees and took something out of his pocket. Katara gasped. He reached over Katara's head and wrapped a necklace around the baby's neck. At the end of the silver chain hung a blue stone. Katara glanced down to look at her one. The chain was different, but the stone was the same. Katara watched as the man turned and left._

_There was a sudden flash of light. When Katara opened her eyes again she noticed that her surroundings were different. She watched._

_There was her mother again. She was older now. So were the playful Sokka and the giggling Katara playing in the snow. Suddenly there was a loud clunk. They all froze and looked behind them. There, right before them, was a Fire Nation ship. Her mother jumped to her feet and grabbed Katara. She held her close to herself. The door to the ship opened and out came…Admiral Zhao. "Where is the girl?" He roared. His gaze rested on the wide eyed Katara in her mother's arms. Zhao walked towards them. "Give her to me!" He roared. Katara watched as her mother tightened her grip around the little girl. _

"_No. You will not do anything to her. Please. She doesn't know anything. She hasn't a clue what she can—" She was cut short. _

_Zhao swung out his hand and slapped her mother across the face. "Give me that…abomination. That…disgusting mistake."_

"_There is nothing wrong with her! She won't even begin to change to she is of age." Her mother shook her head as she glared at Zhao. _

"_Two benders cannot have a baby! It is not meant to be that way. At least not for water benders and fire benders. They are opposites. It is not meant to be to have both bending skills at once!" Zhao glared at the little Katara and reached out to grab her._

_Her mother backed away. "N-no. I see what you're doing. You don't want to kill her. You want to use her. You know she'll be a threat to you. If she learns both skills, you know she could possibly beat you. Y-you just want her for yourself! She is just a child, not some tool for your idiotic war!" _

_Zhao had had enough of this. "Give me the child now." _

_Her mother put the girl down on the snowy ground. She glanced to Sokka. "Sokka, go back to the tent. Take Katara with you." Sokka walked over to the little Katara. Katara screamed no. Sokka rolled his eyes and grabbed her. He dragged her into the tent and shut the door. After making sure that they were both inside the tent, her mother turned back to face Zhao._

"_That was not a very good choice, water peasant." Zhao pulled his hand out from behind his back. His hand was aflame. Just then, Katara and Sokka poked their heads out of the door to see what was going on. "Her father really is a great man. He's a very good fighter. It's sad how he has to be the father of such a disgrace and in love with such an idiot." With that, he punched out at her mother. Sokka and Katara screamed as they both sat and watched their mother be engulfed in flames. Katara tried to run out but Sokka grabbed her. He shook his head in disagreement. The little Katara shut her eyes and Sokka's eyes were bloodshot as tears streamed down his cheeks. When Katara opened her eyes, again, there was a pile of ashes drifting away in the wind as the Fire Nation ship pulled out and began to float away from view. _

_There was another flash of light._

_Katara was now standing on a deck of a ship. A Fire Nation ship. Now her father was the only one who was standing there. "Now you know. You know what you are, and why you are not safe from Zhao. You must come to me. The think with fire bending is, if you don't find a way to release it, it can consume you from the inside. You must find me, and soon, before the fire that runs within your veins kills you. Before it burns you from the inside."_

_Katara hesitated before she said, "Father?" Yes, father. She knew it now. It really was him. He looked at her curiously and waited for her to continue. "I don't know where you are. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly friends with the fire benders."_

_He smiled. "This might be hard to understand, and even harder to do…but…" He didn't finish. He figured he'd just let her see. The shadows on the deck disappeared. Katara's eyes went wide. All around soldiers were running around. But the one that stood out the most caught her attention. Zuko._

"_You are on Zuko's ship! You are on his crew?" Her face turned red with anger. How could she meet her father if the only way to see him was to go on to her enemy's ship._

"_All you have to do is stop running. Just stay in one spot. We are already close. Once we catch up, I will be on the crew to come down to the land. I will meet you at the shore."_

_Katara hesitated. It took all of her might not to blow up in anger at her father. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay…I will be there." Her father smiled at her with pride at what an amazing girl she'd grown to be._

**End of Katara's Dream**

Katara sat up in her sleeping bag. Her face was no longer sweaty but her face was red with anger. Anger at Zhao. He'd killed her mother. Then another thought overtook her. What was she going to do about her father? How was she going to tell Aang and Sokka that she was just going to leave them, go onto their enemy's ship, and meet her long lost dad, or else she'd die because of the fire within her. She chuckled at the how strange it all sounded when you put all the information together. After her dream she couldn't go back to sleep. She heard a little bit of grunting from Sokka's tent next to her. She listened intently to what he was mumbling about. "No! Momo, give me back that fish." He grumbled a little more. "Ahhh! Momo, run! The fish are coming for us! AHHH!" Katara covered her mouth with her hand and immediately began cracking up. After a while, Sokka stopped mumbling and Katara grew bored. So she sat thinking for the next two hours until Sokka and Aang finally woke up. She could hear them rustling around outside the tents. She yawned and stepped out of her tent. She yawned again as she stretched out her aching muscles. She circulated her wrists to regain their feelings and moved her legs around. She'd been sitting there in her tent for far too long.

Sokka and Aang glanced over to Katara. Aang was the first one to speak. "Hey Katara! Want some breakfast?"

Katara smiled and nodded. She glanced over to Sokka. He sat there with his bottom lip puckered out and continued to make small 'hmph' noises. "What's wrong with you, Sokka?"

Sokka stood up. "What's wrong with me? You wanna know what's wrong with me?" His nose flared and his cheeks were red with fury.

Katara looked at him as if she thought he was the stupidest guy in the world. "Well, if I didn't want to know, do you think I would've just asked you? Geez, Sokka." She rolled her eyes.

Sokka jumped up. "You always get the good stuff. You get the pretty necklace. Then you get water bending. And THEN you get fire bending, as if one bending skill didn't already make you enough of a freak. And on top of all that, Momo took my fish!" Momo clicked his tongue. Katara looked over to him to see that he was holding a fish and cradling it to himself like it was his treasure. Katara laughed.

Aang walked over to her and handed her some fried fish. "There you go, Katara." He watched her for a moment before turning around to fry the rest of the fish over a fire that was quickly dying down.

Katara looked at her fish in disgust. All they'd eaten was fish since they'd left the water tribe. Except for a few good meals every once and a while. She gulped down her thoughts of nausea and looked over to Aang. "Um, thanks Aang." She sighed and took a bite of her fish, chewing it like as if she was eating a fat juicy spider. _God, I hate fish_, Katara thought.

Sokka watched her eat with jealousy. He stood up and leaned against the tree. "Yah, well just made sure that elephant-ears over there doesn't steal it from you." He said while pointing to Momo. Momo squeaked angrily and jumped over to Sokka. He looked at him for a moment and tilted his head to the side. He stuck his tongue out and then whacked Sokka on his shin with the fish. Immediately he jumped away and pounced off towards the trees.

After they'd all eaten Katara looked uncomfortably at her hands. She thought back to her dream and decided to announce what she had to do. "Um, you guys? Can we talk?"

Aang and Sokka glanced at each other and walked over to Katara. They all sat down in a circle. Katara took a deep breath. "I-I have to leave you guys. I need to see my father."

Sokka paused for a moment. He knew this was coming. He braced himself for Aang's reaction. He knew that the outcome of Aang's actions would tear Katara apart.

But to his surprise, Aang did or said nothing.

Katara continued. "I had a dream. I need to go and meet my father. He said that if I don't release the fire within me, I could die. That the fire inside me would consume me. I need to go with him so that I can learn fire bending." She blinked a few times and looked at them.

Aang smiled. "That's great! I can go with you and we can both learn fire bending together."

Katara closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, Aang. You can't come. I'm sorry. But you just can't."

Aang looked at her with a confused look pasted on his face. "W-why can't I come with you? I mean, obviously your father is a fire bender, but just because he's Fire Nation, he could still help me. Not _all _Fire Nation are bad. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I was there with you."

Katara thought about what he said. "_Not all Fire Nation are bad."_ She would have to remember that when she meets her father. Katara looked down before saying what she knew he was going to hate. "You can't come because…because my father lives on a Fire Nation ship…" She paused for a second. "Prince _Zuko's_ ship, to be exact."

Aang jumped up. "WHAT? You're leaving us to go be on a ship with Zuko? Katara look, I have no disrespect for your father. I mean, from what Sokka's told me, he sounds like a great guy. But you can't go to Zuko's ship. Need I remind you that he has been chasing us since we left your home? That he is the son of the man that killed your mother. The Fire Lord."

Katara also jumped up. "THE FIRE LORD DID NOT KILL MY FATHER! It was that bastard, Zhao!"

Sokka also stood to his feet. He was about to try and calm things down when Katara swung around, "Stay out of this!" Sokka stared at her and his eyes widened. Her eyes were changing. The gold in them were now glittering, shining, reflecting off her own anger. She closed her eyes and relaxed. 'I'm sorry Aang. But I need to go. It's the only way I can learn to fire bend. I highly doubt there are other fire masters out there that would be willing to teach a water tribe girl."

Aang looked at her, his face going from anger to sadness. "Katara. Please don't. We can find someone else. I promise. After all, I still need to learn fire bending too. Just wait. We can do it together."

Katara stared at him. "I have to learn soon. I told you what my father said. If I don't learn soon, I could die. Is that really what you want to happen? Do you want me to die?"

Aang shut his eyes and shook his head. When he looked back up at her his eyes were watering and his bottom lip was quivering. The face reminded her of the way he'd looked when she'd yelled at him about water bending back at the water fall. He stared at her for a moment. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled slightly and returned the warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Aang. It has to be this way."

Immediately he pulled away. He glanced at Sokka. Sokka reluctantly nodded to Aang and looked back to Katara. Aang also looked to Katara. "Go." He said. "I want you to go, and to learn." He forced a phony smile. "Maybe when you return, you could help teach me how to fire bend." Katara took a step towards him to apologize. His smile turned to a frown. "Go!" He yelled. He had said that harsher than he'd meant it. He ran a few steps off and jumped onto his glider. He looked back, jumped up, and within seconds was floating high above the trees.

Sokka watched Aang fly away. He knew he would be back. Sokka cautiously turned his gaze to Katara. He braced himself. _5, 4, 3, 2, 1_, he counted down in his head. Just as he got to 0 Katara burst into tears. Sokka walked over to her side and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Come on now. He hadn't meant to be mean. He was just sad. Besides, you're still a water bender, remember? You're going to need all the water you can get, so stop wasting it all."

Katara looked up at him. She shoved him away. She looked at the puzzled face he was wearing and began to giggle. She stopped laughing after a few moments. "I know. I just…don't like to see him sad. Especially not if I had anything to do with it."

Sokka frowned. "It wasn't your fault. This was a choice that you had to make. If not, you would die. It's just going to take Aang a little longer to fully understand that."

A few more tears fell down Katara's cheeks and soon they all disappeared. She gave Sokka a reassuring smile. Sokka smiled back. "So, where do I need to take you? I'm guessing you had somewhere in mind to meet your father, right?"

Katara nodded. "I need to meet him by the beach when they arrive."

Sokka thought for a moment. "Well how are they going to find us?" He thought for a few more seconds and his face brightened up. "I have an idea." As he began to pick up a few fruits lying on the ground, he told Katara what he was going to do. The last few sentences were hard for Katara to understand because his mouth was already stuffed with fruit. Basically, he was going to get on Appa and fly towards Zuko's ship. He was going to keep a safe distance, act alarmed, and turn back to the island, which would lead them straight to Katara. Katara nodded in agreement. Her heart began to race; she was going to meet her father. But she couldn't help regretting this whole thing. What was Zuko going to do when he found out that she belongs to one of his soldiers?

* * *

Prince Zuko was out on the deck of his ship. He could hear his uncle's laughter behind him as he won yet another game with some of the other crew members. His face grew contorted with annoyance. He stared out at the sea when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to come with face to face with his uncle. A smile grew across the old man's face. "Prince Zuko, why have you been so quiet lately?"

Zuko looked at his uncle with frustration. "I haven't been quiet lately. You've just been to busy with your games. Why do you insist on playing games when we are so close to getting the Avatar?"

Iroh laughed. "All work and no play can make a fire bender a dull boy."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Where did you hear that proverb? That doesn't sound like your usual advice."

Iroh smiled, "I do not know. It just seemed like an appropriate thing to say at the moment." He shook his head and was about to turn away when he thought of something. "Would you like some tea? When we stopped off at that last market, I was able to buy more ginseng tea. It helps calm the nerves, you know."

The prince frowned. He thrust his arms down to his sides and fire spewed from his knuckles. "Uncle! I do not want your tea. I have no nerves to calm, and I never will, so stop asking!"

The old man laughed while walking away to continue his game with some more members of the crew.

The prince shook his head and looked out to the sea when something caught his attention. He squinted his eyes and saw something flying towards him. Was that a bird? No, it wasn't a bird. As it grew closer, his eyes widened in realization. It was the flying bison coming towards them. "The Avatar." He whispered. Suddenly, the bison stopped and turned around. Prince Zuko looked and noticed that he was heading towards an island. And the island was close to them. "Uncle! Turn the ship. Go to that island. The Avatar is heading there." The prince ran to his room and put on his armor.

* * *

After a few minutes, Sokka and Appa landed back on the shores of the island. He jumped off quickly and ran to camp. Appa slowly followed the trail to their camp. Katara was sitting there, waiting. Sokka ran to his tent and began taking it down. Katara jumped up. "What are you doing? You're leaving?"

Sokka continued to pack his and then Aang's things and loading them onto Appa's saddle. After everything was packed he turned to Katara. "I have to go. The prince's ship is on its way here. They should be here within 5 minutes. I need to take out things and leave. Look, Katara, I don't want to leave you, but I have to. It's the only way they can believe that you're harmless. Go to the beach and meet your father there. After that, I'm sure Zuko's soldiers will come to look around the island. When they find that only your things are here, tell them we left you. Tell them that we hated what you were and abandoned you. You can play along from there." He watched Katara's eyes widen as she began to realize what he was really saying. He stepped over to her and hugged her. He rested his head on her shoulder and tears streamed down his cheeks. "I am so sorry Katara. Just promise me that you understand. We are not abandoning you, we are helping you."

After a few seconds he pulled away from her. Her face was wet with tears. "I promise. I promise I understand. I don't want to…but I do."

Sokka forced a smile. He turned to get on to Appa. He hesitated. Katara smiled. She thought that maybe he was changing his mind. To her surprise, he wasn't. He turned and ran over to the pile of fruits. He picked up two and cradled them in his arms like they were his babies. He kissed Katara on her forehead and then climbed onto Appa's back. He couldn't fly, or the prince would see him. So he and Appa took off, walking to the other side of the island.

* * *

"Finally. I thought we'd never get here." Prince Zuko muttered. He turned to his crew and yelled, "Next time, I expect for you people to work harder and faster." He rolled his eyes and turned towards the bridge which was being opened up and spread across to land. He and a few other crew members got off the ship and began walking across the sand. _Today, I will catch the Avatar_, Zuko thought to himself. Little did he know that the Avatar was far away from this island already, on the back of Appa who was skimming along the water on the other side of the island. He waved for his soldiers to follow him. Katara sat a ways off, hiding in the bushes, watching them. Suddenly, one of the men peeled away from the rest of the group and walked away from them, past Katara. Katara's chest tightened with nervousness. She immediately recognized the man from her dream. The man stopped at the water and sat down, waiting. Katara's hands were sweaty and her throat was dry. She walked up behind the man and hesitated. "Father?" She asked.

The man turned around in shock. His face relaxed and his smiled. My, how she'd grown. "Katara…" He said in a whisper. _Katara_, he repeated in his head.

* * *

I'm so sorry you guys. I told you guys that I was going to post this either last night or early this morning. And here I am submitting it at 7. Ah well, at least it's still on the same day that I promised.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I worked hard on it. Please R&R! Also, I'd be more than happy for and ideas that you guys have to offer. Thank you so far to all those who have reviewed. Your comments are very inspiring.

My stupid laptop crashed last night. And it's the onlycomputer that my story is saved on. I was freaking out. I finally took the freaking peice of crap apart, put it back together, and wala, here I am posting my next chapter.

Also, the girl who thought I was copying her story now says that she was wrong. Not only that, but she loves my fanfic! Score for me!

**Next Chapter: Prince Zuko, Just Give Her A Chance**


	5. This Time, I'm Really Back!

Hey you guys, I'm back. I'm really sorry about making all of you guys wait...for a whole year...lol. But I'm FINALLY back, and hopefully I'm staying this time, lol.

If any of you are wondering where I was, I was in the hospital. I tried to commit suicide...twice. Don't ask me why I'm telling you this, lol.I just feel like I can talk to you guys (my fans). Anyways, that is why I have been gone for so long. I have been in counseling half the time and in the hospital the rest of the time. But I'm back now.

More good news! My mom took me out of school and I'm now getting homeschooling. GUESS WHAT THAT MEANS! New chapters every single FREAKING week! Ooooh yah. Well, I have to go now, I'm starting to work on my next chapter for this story. It will be in sometime this week: PROMISE!

If any of you want to talk to me, feel free to e-mail me at d a g d a underscore 1 7 h o t m a i l . c o m (take out the spaces, and use the actual 'sign' for underscore. ). Don't worry, I won't send you weird forwards and junkmail. Just drop by and say hi if you wanna talk.

LOVE YOU ALL!


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